Kuki-Zo Council Decides to Open National Highway; SoO Agreement Extended for One Year

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) on Thursday decided to open National Highway-2 for the free movement of commuters and essential goods. This decision followed a series of meetings in New Delhi over the past few days between officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and a KZC delegation.

KZC has committed to cooperating with the Security Forces deployed by the Government of India (GoI) to maintain peace along NH-2.
A tripartite meeting was also held in New Delhi today with representatives from MHA, the Government of Manipur, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), and the United People’s Front (UPF). The meeting concluded with the signing of a revised Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement. The new terms and conditions of the agreement will be effective immediately upon signing and will remain in place for one year.

Among other provisions, the revised ground rules reaffirm the territorial integrity of Manipur and emphasize the need for a negotiated solution to bring lasting peace and stability to the state.

KNO and UPF have also agreed to relocate seven designated camps away from vulnerable conflict zones, reduce the number of designated camps, and relocate weapons to the nearest CRPF/BSF camps.

Additionally, KNO and UPF have agreed to undergo a stringent physical verification process by the security forces to ensure that foreign nationals, if any, are de-listed.

The Joint Monitoring Group will now closely monitor the enforcement of the ground rules. Any violations will be dealt with firmly in the future, including the review of the SoO agreement.